Saxon-Bohemian Switzerland: Sandstone Rock Cities and Fascination in a Romantic Landscape

Abstract

Central European sandstone landscapes have developed within a large geological unit known as the Bohemian Creataceous Basin. In ground plan it forms a west–east elongated platform of marine, estuarine and lacustrine sediments that reach 600–1,000 m in thickness and date back to the Late Cretaceous (Lower Cenomanian to Santonian). There are at least ten major sandstone districts scattered over the area which are protected as national parks, landscape protected areas and national reserves due to the scenic beauty of the sandstone relief. However, the largest and most important sandstone area of the whole of Europe – Saxon-Bohemian Switzerland – represents a historical and cultural phenomenon as well, due to the number of archaeological sites, medieval castles, folk architecture and one of the first cradles of European romanticism.